''Claudia'' is a 1943 American

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film directed by

Edmund Goulding Edmund Goulding (20 March 1891 – 24 December 1959) was a British screenwriter and film director. As an actor early in his career he was one of the 'Ghosts' in the 1922 silent film ''Three Live Ghosts'' alongside Norman Kerry and Cyril Chadwick. ...

, and written by

Morrie Ryskind Morris "Morrie" Ryskind (October 20, 1895 – August 24, 1985) was an American dramatist, lyricist and writer of theatrical productions and movies, who became a conservative political activist later in life. Life and career Ryskind was born in ...

. The film stars

Dorothy McGuire Dorothy Hackett McGuire (June 14, 1916 – September 13, 2001) was an American actress. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for ''Gentleman's Agreement'' (1947) and won the National Board of Review Award for Best Actre ...

, Robert Young,

Ina Claire Ina Claire (born Ina Fagan; October 15, 1893February 21, 1985) was an American stage and film actress. Early years Ina Fagan was born October 15, 1893 in Washington, D.C. After the death of her father, Claire began doing imitations of fellow bo ...

Reginald Gardiner William Reginald Gardiner (27 February 1903 – 7 July 1980) was an English actor on the stage, in films and on television. Early years Gardiner was born in Wimbledon, England, and he was a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.Katz, ...

Olga Baclanova Olga Vladimirovna Baklanova (russian: О́льга Влади́мировна Бакла́нова; 19 August 1893 – 6 September 1974), known professionally as Olga Baclanova, was a Russian-born actress who found success in Hollywood film and ...

, and

Jean Howard Jean Howard (born Ernestine Hill; October 13, 1910 – March 20, 2000) was an American actress and professional photographer. She was born in Longview, Texas and died in Beverly Hills, California. Early years Howard was born Ernestine Hill on Oc ...

. The film was released on November 4, 1943, by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

. The film was based on a Broadway play of the same name from 1941. It is followed by a

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

in 1946 '' Claudia and David''. Robert Young said of his co-star, “She'd done it on Broadway and this was mostly a photographed play. Ina Claire was wonderful as her mother. It did sensational business and Fox requested a sequel. Dorothy was aghast and said she'd never do a sequel, but technically, she was under contract to Selznick and he simply put his foot down and ''Claudia and David'' duly appeared in 1946 and was almost as big a hit.”

Plot

Child bride Claudia Naughton (

) has made life difficult for her husband David ( Robert Young) because she can't stand living so far away from her mother. She's also afraid her husband doesn't find her desirable enough. To remedy both situations, she plans to sell their farm to an opera singer so they'll have to move back to the city near her mother, and she tries to make her husband jealous by flirting with a neighbor. Eventually, Claudia has to learn to grow when she discovers that she's about to become a mother and that her own mother is gravely ill.

Cast

as Claudia Naughton * Robert Young as David Naughton *

as Mrs. Brown *

as Jerry Seymour *

as Madame Daruschka *

as Julia * Frank Tweddell as Fritz * Elsa Janssen as Bertha

References

External links

* * * * {{Edmund Goulding 1943 films 1943 comedy-drama films 20th Century Fox films American black-and-white films American comedy-drama films American films based on plays 1940s English-language films Films about marriage Films directed by Edmund Goulding Films scored by Alfred Newman Films set in Connecticut Films produced by William Perlberg 1940s American films